Thermoset molding compositions known in the art are generally thermosetting resins containing inorganic fillers and/or fibers. Upon heating, thermoset monomers initially exhibit viscosities low enough to allow for melt processing and molding of an article from the filled monomer composition. Upon further heating the thermosetting monomers react and cure to form hard resins with high modulus.
There remains a need for thermoset compositions exhibiting improved combinations of properties including curing rate, toughness, stiffness, and heat resistance.
One embodiment is a curable composition comprising: a functionalized poly(arylene ether); an alkenyl aromatic monomer and an alkoxylated acryloyl monomer. The present inventors have found that this composition provides a highly desirable combination of fast curing, reduced curing rate oxygen sensitivity, high toughness, high stiffness, and high heat resistance. At least one of these properties is compromised if any of the components is omitted.
Other embodiments, including a cured composition, an article comprising a cured composition, and a method of preparing a curable composition are described in detail below.